Best Digital Cameras for Travel

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You’re out for drinks at a tango hall in Buenos Aires, with your
bulky digital SLR camera back in the hotel room. As the dancers
pause in a dramatic embrace, you reach for your smartphone. But
it’s too dim, and by the time the built-in camera focuses, the
moment has passed.

Welcome to one of today’s biggest travel photography conundrums.
Five-or-more-megapixel smartphones give us a false sense of being
covered, photo-wise. But all too often, they fall short, and
we’re left with blurry, even discolored vacation photos. The
truth is that dedicated digital cameras are just as important as
ever.

Fortunately, the digital SLR—with its super-fast shutter speeds,
big image sensors, and interchangeable lenses—is no longer the
only option for top-notch photos. By ditching the internal
reflective mirror that gives the SLR its
what-you-see-is-what-you-get viewfinder, a new generation of
interchangeable lens cameras provides the same versatility, image
quality, and performance at about two-thirds of the size and
weight. You’ll really appreciate the difference after a day of
sightseeing.

Going on an extended vacation that combines hiking, city tours,
midnight walks, and wakeboarding? The mirrorless interchangeable
lens camera is up to the challenge: Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3, for
example, has 11 different lenses, among them, wide-angle,
telephoto, and zoom, that can handle any situation.

If you prefer something smaller, it’s worth upgrading to the
latest generation of pocket-ready point-and-shoot cameras, which
offer many advantages over camera phones. New features include
built-in GPS, which automatically geo-tags images with their
location—allowing you to share and map vacation routes later
online via services such as Google Panoramio. The Pentax Optio
WG-1’s built-in GPS can even tell you which Cayman Islands coral
reef you photographed, since it’s waterproof up to 33 feet.

One advantage you do get with a smartphone is the ability to
instantly share your pictures online. But some cameras now offer
workarounds: the Kodak Playfull has a special function that lets
you tag photos for sharing, then automatically uploads them the
next time you connect to your computer. Similarly, an add-on for
the Olympus PEN E-PL2 will send your pictures wirelessly to your
cell phone via Bluetooth, allowing you to upload on the fly.

Read on to find out which of the best digital cameras for travel
is right for you.